Make room in your GDC 2015 schedule for these standout talks

Are you ready for the 2015 Game Developers Conference next week? As everyone finalizes their conference schedules, we'd like to take a moment to highlight some standout sessions that you should keep on your radar.

First, make time to see cartoonist and animator Graham Annable (responsible for Puzzle Agent while working at Telltale Games) discussing what game developers can learn from animated filmmakers during his "The Making Of The Stop Motion Film 'The Box Trolls'" GDC talk. As director of the Oscar-nominated film (pictured), Annable will offer attendees an overview of storytelling, puppet making, costume designing, and shooting a miniaturized movie on the big screen.

Plus, Blizzard Entertainment's Joshua Mosquiera will dig deep into the design of Diablo III during his talk "Against the Burning Hells: Diablo III's Road to Redemption with Reaper of Souls." Mosquiera will relate his experience as Diablo III game director and discuss the hows and whys behind the game's evolution of core philosophy, itemization and rewards. Learn about how Blizzard removed the controversial Auction House, about the evolution of randomness at the heart of the Diablo experience, and how the team tried to root out internal design biases.

Finally, BioWare's Leah Shinkewski will break down the practical challenges of moving player data across generations and platforms in her "Connecting Players and Franchise: A Compelling Solution to the Cross-Platform Challenge" talk. 

From corrupt save game files to platform-based restrictions, expect to learn how the Dragon Age Keep's unique web-based approach successfully solves for cross-platform and generation challenges while creating the opportunity to engage with fans of a game before, during, and after launch by building a franchise ecosystem.

For more information on these or others in the show's expansive lineup, check out GDC 2015's official Schedule Builder, which continues to add new talks every week. 

GDC 2015 itself will take place March 2-6 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. For more information, visit the show's official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS.

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